Via Sam Volz: Athlete Eddie Hearn vowed that Anthony Joshua “will be back” after narrowly losing a decisive 12-set round to the sport’s number 1 boxer, Oleksandr Usyk, on Saturday night.
Hearn admitted that Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) didn’t do enough to win by ceding the final three rounds of the competition to Usyk.
Entering the ninth round, Hearn said he had won 5-4 somehow, and he told Joshua he felt he was ready to be beaten by Usyk after a strong round.
Unfortunately for Joshua, things fell apart for him after the ninth round, when he was overtaken by Usyk in rounds 10, 11, and 12.
The score is 116-112, 115-113 for Usyk and 115-113 for Joshua.
“No, I don’t think he won. I thought it was a very close fight, but I think it was 115-113 because of the last three innings,” said Eddie Hearn. talkSPORT about his view that Usyk deserved to win over Joshua.
“That tenth round for Usyk, I couldn’t believe it. I ran over [to Joshua] at the end of season nine, and I said, ‘You got him, he’s done.’ And he just came out, and it was one of the best heavyweight performances in a round I’ve ever seen, and he [Usyk] deserved victory.
“Tricyclic [10, 11, and 12], he ran away with the fight. Very close [after the ninth]. 5-4 either way, but very close. I thought to myself, ‘He’s going to win these rounds and win the war.’
“This is why he [Usyk] pound-for-pound #1, and AJ, you saw his reaction. It’s passion; he was devastated, and he wanted to win badly, but he wasn’t good enough.
“He lost in a division decision against the No. 1 pound. I hope he’s not too embarrassed about it because it was a much better performance than the first game. When you’re at number 1, it’s very difficult to get past him.
“I still feel him [Joshua] It started off a bit slow, and I still feel he needs to loosen up a bit more. Easier said than done. We said that during the build. He constantly injures him to the body and head in the ninth.
“Maybe he kicks himself a bit for not getting in earlier in the fight, but again, the championship rounds from Usyk were unbelievable.
“Usyk is free to do what he wants and he will move forward. He will probably try and fight for the undisputed championship. We’ll see what happens. AJ, people talked during this build about his retirement.
“When you lose a split decision to 1 pound-for-pound, why would you even think? It’s about passion; it’s about you still want it. Look, you saw how much he still wants it in the post-match interview, but he’s going to take a while.
“I want to see him again, maybe even at the end of December. Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder; there are a lot of guys at the top [15]. There were even some Brits passing, maybe in a few fights..
“Hrgovic, he is now mandatory for Usyk. We have to see what he [Joshua] what he wants to do in the end and it’s going to be a tough defeat, but he’ll be back,” Hearn said of Joshua.
